Benito Mussolini is known as the National Fascist Party leader, ruling Italy as the Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943. As the ambitious leader that he was, Mussolini was always eager for a socialist country, fighting in battles to gain power to make Italy stronger. Eventually his move for power began to degrade, leading to his eventual execution by the Italians. As the determination for sovereignty influenced many authors in the Elizabethan era, throughout all William Shakespeare’s plays, ambition for power becomes an evil force that causes characters to turn against their own morals leading to downfalls. As ambition begins to flourish, in the play, Julius Caesar, characters are faced with the audacity of obtaining power in which causes superb …show more content…
Cassius’ ambition for power is easily motivated by the decisions made by Caesar, where he believes Caesar will use his power to advance his own self and will turn his back against the people of Rome. After speaking with Decius, the conflict begins to rise when Caesar’s confused mindset immediately switches to a power-hungry king when he shouts, “How foolish do your fears seem now, Calpurnia! /I am ashamed I did yield to them/ Give me my robe, for I will go” (2.2.110-112). When deciding to go to the capital to collect his crown, Caesar’s “ambition in this regard is seen as an egocentric drive; Brutus comes to believe that Caesar wants power in and of itself, not for the benefit of the Romans” (Hacht). Caesar’s determination for power for himself, no matter how frightening the signs may be, whether it be the nightmares Calpurnia experiences or the soothsayer telling Caesar to “beware the ides of march”, is deeply influenced by the men around them. Through these ambitious actions portrayed, Cassius and Caesar are faced with the most undesirable consequence, death, displaying their downfall of …show more content…
In search for power with the help of the witches’ foreshadowing predictions, Macbeth realizes that Banquo is a true threat to his pathway to power, so he concludes: “Banquo, thy soul’s flight/,if it find heaven, must find it out tonight” (3.1.146-147). Influenced by his aspiration for power, “Macbeth forgets about his friends and the value of their friendships and is willing to, and does kill them if it means his position as king isn’t secure, or won’t be secure” (Kesur). As a fellow companion of Macbeth’s, the readers view Banquo as a trustworthy friend but the ambition that Macbeth obtains from this situation reaches its height when he decides to kill his noble and trustworthy friend. To continue this determination for power, the witches use repetition to reassure Macbeth of the colossal amount power he obtains when they all say, “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter” (1.3.50-53). After this conversation, the statements from the witches essentially “give Macbeth the most power, and certainly confidence from the witches, [giving] Macbeth a tremendous amount of self-assurance boost and [becoming] arrogant and completely corrupt” (Kesur). Through the witchs’ predictions, Macbeth is able to perceive the power that
Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (I.3.51-53). The witches' words are a catalyst, fueling Macbeth's ambition and setting him on a treacherous path.
1. Introduction In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, Gaius Julius Caesar is described by the character of Mark Antony as being, “…the noblest Roman of them all…” (Shakespeare Julius Caesar 5.5.67.231). Julius Caesar has been represented in history as a multi-faceted Roman leader, excelling in the military, social and political spheres of Roman life.
(3.1.9-10). This means that Banquo will not act upon what the witches are telling him. What the witches are telling Macbeth would also never be coming true if he hadn’t acted upon it. As Banquo puts it in the play, “The instruments of darkness tell us truths,/Win us with honest trifles, to betray ’s/ In deepest consequence.”
The three Witches are one of the reasons why her husband chooses to kill Macbeth. The Witches in Macbeth’s play have powers like no other. One of the powers they have is
While Brutus maintains noble intentions, Cassius goes into this scheme with every intention of leaving everyone else behind to claim the power for himself, as he has been compelled by their society to do. Cassius tells Brutus that Caesar “doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus” while convincing him that Caesar is accumulating too much power for one man, despite harboring the belief that all of that power should be his (JC I.ii.142-143). To further prove his point to Brutus, Cassius gives Brutus fake letters telling him that the common people would rather have Brutus in charge than Caesar. While this is just Cassius himself manipulating Brutus, Cassius is motivated by the pressures of their society and Brutus, motivated by the belief that his society wants him to, joins the conspirators in their plot to kill Caesar and take power for themselves. Caught in a vicious cycle of societal pressure, these men continue to fight for power even after they achieve their original goal as evidenced by the civil war that breaks out following the assassination of Julius
Often times, people go through rises and downfalls in their lives that they themselves are responsible for. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, both main characters, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, himself, are responsible for the downfall of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is responsible for the tragedy because she convinces and manipulates Macbeth into doing the deed. However, Shakespeare accomplishes in showing that Macbeth is more responsible for his own downfall than Lady Macbeth because he listens to the witches and follows his ambition rather than his conscience. To begin, Lady Macbeth is responsible for the tragedy because she convinces and manipulates Macbeth into doing the deed by insulting him when he changes his mind.
Being that Banquo seemed suspicious of Macbeth subsequently the night of the king 's death. Apprehensive of his throne Macbeth would do anything in his power to prevent even the slightest chance for anyone to take the throne from him.
He reveals that he is not strong minded and is easily influenced by those around him. It is through Banquo that one can actually identify Macbeth with these traits. If it were not for Banquo’s calm and responsible reaction to the foretelling, it would be difficult to hold Macbeth on a basis on the appropriate way to respond to the situation. Banquo is not after sole success, and still considers himself successful even with his sons being heirs to the kingdom. With this genuine appreciation, we are able to view Macbeth as a greedy and irrational character.
Cassius saves the life of Caesar, sees him beg for water, and witnesses his epileptic seizure. From these weaknesses, Cassius finds himself to be just as worthy of the crown as is Caesar. His reasons are emotionally tied to getting rid of Caesar, Brutus chooses to become a conspirator for the good of Rome. He does not know how Caesar will use his power.
One of them is Brutus could be tracked down and executed for killing Caesar. Though it would help the people of Rome Brutus doesn't want to die because of his actions. All of Caesar's guards would hunt down Brutus and assassinate him for killing who they thought was a great
He could be manipulative and scheming, allowing his flesh to rule his heart. Cassius hated to be subservient to any man, and especially to Caesar. Upset by the rich and powerful who allowed Caesar to rule, he began to think of a way to remove Caesar from his throne. By using other men's good intentions, Cassius orchestrated and
Cassius manipulates Brutus to the point of making him feel as if there are several people wanting Brutus to do something about Caesar. Cassius also wants to convince Brutus that “Caesar’s ambition shall be glanced at” so they can eliminate his power for fear that “worse days [may] endure”. Cassius is not the only senator wanting to eliminate Caesar’s growing
First of all he was motivated by envy over Caesar’s power. Cassius felt that Caesar did not deserve to rule Rome. Secondly, Cassius was upset because he had saved Caesar from drowning in the Tiber River. “But ere we could arrive the point proposed, Caesar cried, “Help me, Cassius, or I sink!” (Shakespeare 1.2.110-111).
Julius Caesar Zakary Powers Julius Caesar, leader of Rome, had a overwhelming ego and it is shown many times throughout the play of, “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”. One of the times Julius Caesar showed his overwhelming ego was towards the beginning of the play when the soothsayer warns Caesar about the “ides of march”. The second time Julius shows his ego is when he says that he is not afraid of anybody - and people may talk behind his back, but never to his face as they would be too scared. The third time Julius shows his ego when he ignores his wife’s caution and worries about going to the Senate. Julius Caesar overall is seen to be arrogant and he has a very large ego.
In the tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, power and compotation take over Rome. Caesar let the power go to his head, using the power for his convenience, becoming an actual threat to his people. Another example would be Antony, who won in the eyes of the people using persuasion. Julius Caesar is a play about power and free will. In the very first scene it becomes evident that the main threat to the people is going to be the constant abuse of power.